With the International Blues Challenge set to kick off next week in Memphis, blues musicians from all over are making their way to Beale Street to prove their mettle. As I have written before, many of us here in Memphis take the Blues Challenge for granted, but for the acts involved it's both a serious competition and a chance to represent their corners of the world in front of the global blues community.
* From Phoenix, the Sugar Thieves are headed to Memphis for their second appearance at the International Blues Challenge. The band brings brings a youthful energy and a unique sound to the competition, according to a piece in the Phoenix New Times:
* Topeka, Kan., will be well represented at the Blues Challenge. Two acts making their way to Memphis will play Saturday night at a kickoff party at a Topeka blues spot called Uncle Bo's.
He and Al Rivers, who competed in Memphis last year, are playing a show Saturday in Beaver Town to help raise some cash for expenses.
* From Phoenix, the Sugar Thieves are headed to Memphis for their second appearance at the International Blues Challenge. The band brings brings a youthful energy and a unique sound to the competition, according to a piece in the Phoenix New Times:
While they are not as traditional sounding as some others, they are soulful and sassy, sincere and optimistic in a way that only the blues can be. Sharp-dressed, gritty, and doing plenty of Jäger shots before taking the stage, they own their shows, and this year, they've decided that they're "in it to win it."Note: The Sugar Thieves were formerly known as the Mikel Lander and Meredith Moore Band. A couple of the members are pictured in this GoMemphis story.
* Topeka, Kan., will be well represented at the Blues Challenge. Two acts making their way to Memphis will play Saturday night at a kickoff party at a Topeka blues spot called Uncle Bo's.
In Memphis, the Nick Hern Band will participate in the IBC's Youth Showcase, a noncompetitive event staged in conjunction with the blues challenge in which Josh Vowell & The Rumble will compete against blues acts from around the globe. Two Topekans -- Suki Willison, Topeka Blues Society president and talent buyer for Uncle Bo's, and Stacy Jeffress, writer for Blues Revue -- will serve as judges for the semifinal round of the International Blues Challenge.* Up in Corvallis, Ore., fingerstyle picker Adam Scramstad has been busy polishing his act for his first-ever trip to Memphis.
"It's the birthplace of the blues," Scramstad said. "There is a whole lot of history there."
He and Al Rivers, who competed in Memphis last year, are playing a show Saturday in Beaver Town to help raise some cash for expenses.
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